From worst to first, the face of the Texans Defense

Just about every Texans sportswriter and blogger is writing about the #1 ranked Texans Defense, and yes, that “Defense” with a capital “D”. Allow me to join in the fun.

As most of you know, I’m a defensive minded fan and I’ve been screaming for a top 10 ranked defense for many years. I predicted it when Thomas was still the blog host. In fact, I predict it just about every year, even if in my heart of hearts I only halfheartedly believe it. Well folks, I finally got one right.

As many have said, I am also of the opinion that our best off-season signing was the acquisition of new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. I remember all the moaning and groaning I heard when we brought him here, and I vehemently defended his signing, going so far as to point out his past accomplishments as a DC. Phillips has taken this Texans defense and flipped them 180 degrees in a single off-season. The only key players not on last year’s abysmal defense are Daniel Manning, Jonathan Joseph, J.J. Watt, Brooks Reed and Connor Barwin. (I include Barwin here because he missed 15.5 games last year.) So what was the key? What is it that Phillips has done that the previous two DC’s couldn’t figure out? Does he have one of those Inspector Gadget secret decoder rings? To me, he just seems to put players in the right spot so that they play to their strengths, and plays with an aggressiveness that has offensive players around the league crying foul.

I thought I’d highlight some of the players I think have been instrumental in turning last season’s train wreck around.

This may come as a big surprise to some, but I am somewhat of a Brian Cushing fan. I have been since the day he was drafted. I believed during his rookie campaign that the league hasn’t seen as dominant a linebacker since Ray Lewis’ heydays. I said that because even as a rookie, I saw in Cushing a player that was not only great, but that would greater and greater as he grows. His sophomore funk notwithstanding, the 2011 version of Cushing is making me look like a genius yet again. Cush plays with a motor that runs non-stop, has amazing instincts, and he possesses a nasty streak that is contagious. He teammates feel so strongly about Cushing that they voted him the defensive captain last week, a spot that DeMeco Ryans and Mario Williams have dominated for the past several years. Cushing leads the Texans in tackles with 61, but it’s his attitude that really leads the defensive squad.

Take last weekend’s headbutt for instance. After laying out Browns offensive guard Shawn Lauvao, who Cush had been battling all day, Lauvao got up angry and shoved Cushing. After being separated by other players, Cushing started to walk away and was shoved in the back by Lauvao. Cushing, the bulldog that he is, took off his helmet and can actually be seen headbutting Lauvao, who by the way, was wearing a helmet. While that sort of practice probably isn’t wise for the long term, it’s that kind of tenacity and nastiness that inspires everyone on the Texans sideline to step up their own game just a notch. The Texans website has a great video of Cushing miked up for last weekend’s game.

Another player that has come into his own is self-proclaimed ninja-assassin Antonio Smith. Like Cush, Smith plays 110% from whistle to whistle and possesses a nasty streak of his own. Smith has only 4.5 sacks, most of which he got while Mario Williams was getting most of the attention, but his impact this season over last season has been huge. Now that Williams is out, Smith is getting much of the attention that was previously given to Mario. This has opened up opportunities for players like Brooks Reed, Barwin and J.J. Watt to get in on the action. One thing about this defense, no one player is leading the league in any statistical category, but collectively, they’re getting the job done. Antonio is an integral part of that success.

After suffering one of the most gruesome injuries we’ve seen in last season’s opener, OLB Connor Barwin has returned as good as new and is proving to be the player everyone was hoping he would develop into. While manning the OLB spot opposite Mario before Mario went out, we didn’t hear Barwin’s name getting called too often. Now that he’s moved across to fill Mario’s shoes, he’s becoming a force opposing offenses are having to reckon with. Barwin seems to be getting better and better every week, showing flashes of quickness and athleticism that are a rare find in a guy his size. I got to meet Barwin a few weeks ago when I was invited to the Texans Field Day. He’s every bit as quiet and unassuming as he seems off the field as he appears on the field. You don’t see any post-sack dances out of Barwin. But from where he’s come since almost twisting his foot off last year, he has every reason to celebrate. He’s definitely got my nod as the Texans’ “Come-Back” player of the year.

After getting burned week after week last season and almost posting the leagues worst ever pass defense, we all screamed for change. While Nnamdi Asomugha was the fan pick, the Texans opted to sign former Bengals CB Jonathan Joseph, which left enough money left over to also sign safety Daniel Manning. This is proving brilliant. While Nnamdi is not playing up to the billing he received during the free agent signing period, Joseph has been everything and more than the Texans could’ve hoped for. And as we’ve seen the past few weeks, he’s able to lay the wood just like the big boys up front. Tied for #9 in the league with 3 INT’s along with fellow teammate Jason Allen, the difference a single player makes in the secondary couldn’t be more apparent. Joseph is tied for 5th in the league in passes defended and has a forced fumble to boot. Score one for Rick Smith for this signing.

It hasn’t taken long for offensive coordinators around the league to notice rookie DE J.J. Watt. With seemingly rubber arms, Watt has about as many batted passes as the rest of the defense combined. Like Cushing as a rookie, this kid is flat out fun to watch. He’s big, strong, and non-stop. And he’s just what the doctor ordered. While fellow rookie Brooks Reed is hogging all the attention with his 4 sacks, Watt is quietly doing the grunt work to open doors for blitzing linebackers. Not bad for a rookie defensive lineman, which is a pretty tough position to start out at as a rook. Yet another non-stop motor guy, Watt seems to have a nose for the ball. Along with all his batted passes, he’s blocked a FG attempt and recovered two fumbles. As this defense continues to grow, this kid is going to be even more fun to watch.

There are several other players worthy of an honorable mention, such as safety Daniel Manning, who was playing outstanding before being sidelined with an injury, and Brooks Reed, who is third on the team with 4 sacks but hasn’t been a key starter long enough yet to judge, to safeties Troy Nolan and Glover Quin, who have both played above average. Now that I think about it, I think I’ve just about covered every player on the field on the defensive side of the ball except NT Shawn Cody and MLB DeMeco Ryans. Cody has held his own in the middle for an undersized NT, but that’s still proven to be the Texans’ biggest weakness against the run. DeMeco, who is recovering from a ruptured achilles tendon suffered last season, has been hampered by a bum elbow, forced to wear a cumbersome brace for most of the season.

All in all, this collective bunch of players have done what most fans thought was impossible. They’ve taken one of the worst ranked defenses in the league and in only half a season, have become the #1 ranked defense in the league. Having said that, there are still 7 games to go, and the naysayers out there will tell you they can’t keep up the intensity, the dominance, that they’ve displayed thus far.

But I’m not one of those guys. I’m all-in for this Texans defense. I believe after the next 7 games, the Texans just might have found them a place in a few record books, and maybe, just maybe, a home playoff game or two.

16 Responses

Whatever way Wade has done it, whether by scheme or putting guys in the right spot or whatever, he manages to get the most out of his players. So many of our guys look better than they EVER have that you really have no choice but to look at Wade.

And have you noticed how happy Wade is? The guy is grinning so big it looks like his face will split apart at times. I think positive attitude has at least some part in the turnaround.

And I’m sick of reading and hearing people (on the radio and in the paper) saying ‘yeah but they play weak offenses’. We played the Steelers, Ravens, Oakland and New Orleans. And ALL the teams we’ve played have been NFL offenses. The only way teams like the Browns get to looking so bad is when teams like the Texans obliterate them.

So those people can bite me. We’re the number one defense in the NFL. Period. I love it. It has been such a joy to watch these guys week in and week out.

Ain’t it fun to have a good D? I too think everything started with Wade. We all like to criticize McNair for some of his decisions with respect to the Texans, but he clearly deserves some level of credit for staying the course and bringing Wade on board. That has been the key to this year. San Fran notwithstanding (and even then I think they are both an outlier and a have the good fortune of playing in the NFC West), I firmly believe that if we had started over with a new HC, we’d not be enjoying the success we are now. Enjoy the ride, Texans’ fan. We sure as hell have earned it.

Agree wholeheartedly…good analysis. I find myself looking forward to the defense going onto the field. There seems to be a whole new level of excitement and expectations in watching the Texans defensive players perform. You can sense and see them maturing as quality NFL players right before our eyes. I applaud them.

CD – I don’t know if you realize this, but you have two sets of comments on your blog now. If people click on your blog from the sports page – they end up here and post comments the old way with you posting them. If they click on Ultimate Texans and click on your blog that way – they self-post comments (like Ultimate Astros blogs have been doing for awhile). You have more comments over on that side that do not show up here.

I’ve said this before. This offense is the best thing a defensive minded coach or head coach could ever want. While people often mistake this offense as a pass happy offense, it isn’t. It was like that in Denver, and now here. When kubiak has had the lead in the past, 3 and 4 quarters have gotten boring. Boring because he’ll run the hell out of the ball. Its no coincedence that this defense is posting great stats. Dont get me wrong, Wade and the defense are above average and good. But it helps big time when the team controls the time of possession, which in turns helps with the defensive stats.. To be clear, this team, as a whole (offense, defense, players, coaches) are doing a phenomenal job!

I am shocked and happy about this defense. I believe Phillips is the first defensive coordinator with ‘full’ control of the defense. I think Kubiak learned to meddle with the defense from Shanahan. Whatevere happened, its ggggggreat !

This new CHRON format made it almost impossible to find this blog. looks like I’m not the only one.

It’s amazing how much a defense can improve when your competition is the equilavent of the SEC…….When Captain Kangaroo played the NFL level, he gave up a Dallas franchise record of points in one season.

RE: “Badasses”….Let’s see, AnDROP misses half the season from a PHANTOM hit….Mario missing the rest of the season from a feeble push…..Cushing needs a transfusion every week….Matt “Sob” has a boo-boo on his toe…..Yeah I wish Dallas had those badasses.

“8 more games, huh? So you’re already counting a playoff game. Well why not? If they keep playing hard nosed, ‘blood ’n guts’ football (and I don’t just mean Cushing’s blood and Wade’s gut) they should have at least one playoff game.

We’ve waited a long time for the Texans to have a real D. I don’t think there is any argument against this being the best they’ve ever had. I knew they’d be better, but I never thought they’d come this far this fast. And they’re still learning Wade’s system.

Sure, they have soft spots that a few teams can exploit. But that’s just it. It’s only a few spots and a few teams, not everywhere and any team. Even those teams have to do it well enough to out-score the Texans’ O. How many AFC teams can do that when the O is playing well?

The entire Texans team has looked dominant in the last two wins over the Browns and the Bucs. The AFC is still very much up for grabs, the west doesn’t seem to have any clearly great team, the north and the east have three teams each that seem like they could be in the playoffs, but none of them has been consistent.

I think that the playoffs this year will be Chargers, Texans, Steelers, Ravens, Patriots, Jets. The question is: who can beat the Packers?